But when kids do it, it can be especially delightful. I may have mentioned before that Alexander loves Guns and Roses. Welcome to the Jungle is one of the first songs he really rocked out to. A couple of months ago he was playing Paradise City, and I was singing along.
Take me down to the Paradise City
where the grass is green and the girls are pretty
Oh, won't you please take me home.
Alexander said, "Mom, I think he's trying to say 'where the girls are British.'"
"Oh," I said, "you think it's 'where the grass is green and the girls are British?'"
"Yup."
"I'm pretty sure it's 'where the grass is green and the girls are pretty.'"
Alexander looked at me like I was completely out of touch, and said, "Mom, girls are always pretty, everywhere."
* * * * *
And we've got one from Annabel too. We've been listening to some Madonna lately. Now, Annabel's a strange little creature in that she hardly ever sings along with music, but a few hours later or maybe even the next day or next week, she'll bust out with the lyrics of a song during normal conversation. She won't sing it; she'll just all of a sudden say, "Mariposa ole!" or "It's hard to be a woman." Often, it takes me a moment to trace her words back to the song they came from.
Once, she was sitting on Michiel's lap when she suddenly put her hands over his mouth and said, "Papa don't breathe."
He took her hands away and said he didn't like that, but she did it again. "Papa don't breathe."
This went back and forth and after a few more times, Michiel and I figured it out at the same time. "Papa Don't Preach!" We've got a little Madonna fan in the house.
Papa don't breathe, I'm in trouble deep
Papa don't breathe, I've been losing sleep
It kinda works.
